Soldering Iron for a newbie?

[nwdrummer379]

I've never soldered before and as I get deeper into constructing my layout I have some switches I'll need to wire and other accesories. So my question is are there any good soldering irons out there for a beginner?

 

[fast_ian]

Hi,

My 02c;

- Cleanliness is the key.
- Get one with an adjustable output, stand and cleaning sponge - A little more $ but much more flexibility and you'll have somewhere to put it when hot.....
- Cleanliness is the key.
- Most solders (of the non-acidic type we use) include flux, but get yourself more - It's available in tubs, pens and probably other ways but you will become religious about applying it before attempting anything else.
- Cleanliness is the key

Practice - Try "tinning" a few wires of different sizes to get an idea of when the flux boils and the solder "flows" nicely. Then try soldering wire to, eg, a big lump of metal - Notice how much extra heat is needed to get it to flow as before. etc etc....

There's some pretty good notes etc in this site; http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/ - Scroll on the left to the "soldering" tab and enjoy!

Good luck - It isn't hard with a little practice.

Cheers,
Ian

 

[35tac]

Soldering Station

Hi,

My 02c;

- Cleanliness is the key.
- Get one with an adjustable output, stand and cleaning sponge - A little more $ but much more flexibility and you'll have somewhere to put it when hot.....
- Cleanliness is the key.
- Most solders (of the non-acidic type we use) include flux, but get yourself more - It's available in tubs, pens and probably other ways but you will become religious about applying it before attempting anything else.
- Cleanliness is the key

Practice - Try "tinning" a few wires of different sizes to get an idea of when the flux boils and the solder "flows" nicely. Then try soldering wire to, eg, a big lump of metal - Notice how much extra heat is needed to get it to flow as before. etc etc....

There's some pretty good notes etc in this site; http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/ - Scroll on the left to the "soldering" tab and enjoy!

Good luck - It isn't hard with a little practice.

Cheers,
Ian

HAKO 936 Soldering station. About $80.00 on the newly FCC policed internet. Most R/C car guys use it and love them. I like the one I just got.
Merry Christmas
Wayne

 

[Selector]

go to Radio Shack or some similar place and purchase a Weller 30-50 watt pencil or gun type, your choice. You'll want the thinnest resin-filled solder you can find. It should have a pointed tip, something like a pencil sharpened in one of those cheap plastic sharpeners, like you see at tees on golf courses. Sharp but very little taper.

You must keep the tip hot and clean when using it. Use a roll of paper towel to wipe the tip about once every two minutes.

When you are finished the job, dip the tip, quickly in and out again, into a tin of flux and then tin the tip. Unplug it and let it cool.

Get in the habit of resting it safely out of the way of young hands, your elbows and knees, your feet. Many come with a rest for the metal shaft. Don't rest the working tip on anything...you want air circulating around it, and not rug fibers, house dust, the side of your new locomotive, or your $200 fancy structure kit...the one you just finished.

If the tip is not kept hot, or allowed to warm to that point, your solders will take longer. Unfortunately, those longer solders mean more heat getting further up the rail from where you want it...the wires, too. Not good for insulation or the plastic ties and tiny spike head details that retain your rails in gauge. So, the idea, as stated earlier, is to have a clean surface for soldering, a truly hot iron, flux and/or resin in the solder, and you must have a positive control over both the iron and the items to be bonded. Use metal clamps to hold things if you need more hands. The bare metal will help to act as a heat sink and wick migrating heat, which it does amazingly quickly in metals, away from the ties and spike heads.

The foregoing means you should only have to tin the wire, tin the tip of the iron, or both, hold the wire tip in place against the rail, and then just touch the other side of the rail web or foot for about a count of "One...two.." and remove the iron immediately.

Crandell

 

[nwdrummer379]

Thanks for the tips fellas, I do have two questions though. What is "flux" and whats the term "tin" used for?

 

[cruzMOKS]

to jump in on this discussion, I have a weller 100/140 which sat on my shelf for 20 years. I turned it on to test it by soldering 2 wires together and it never got the wires hot enough to melt the solder. I then cleaned the tip with steel wool, but no change in the results. Held the iron to the bare wire for 2minutes

The iron was hot because it sizzled when I stuck the tip in the flux paste.

 

[Selector]

What gauge of wire, and what was the mass of the hot iron? If the wires were 14 gauge or heavier, and the tip long and thin, it may not have had enough heat energy to transfer effectively to the wires. Just guessing.

Tinning is the expression used in the field for coating the tip or the object to be soldered with solder. When the tip is hot, you touch the wire to the tip and wipe around. Coat the tip.

Flux is a paste that comes in a tin like a shoe polish tin. Some are acidic, some are not. Wisdom is to not use acid flux on electronics. I do use it for tracks and have not had problems.

Crandell

 

[fast_ian]

Some very good advice & comments - I'll add a further 02c;

,,,purchase a Weller 30-50 watt pencil or gun type, your choice.

I respectfully disagree here - I assume (always dangerous!) by "gun type" you mean the "instant heat" trigger tool? - If so, I don't believe that's a good choice for a newbie - They're heavy and heat up & cool down in a hurry - Which is good once you know what you're doing, but not here (IMHO).

You must keep the tip hot and clean when using it. Use a roll of paper towel to wipe the tip about once every two minutes.

+1

But, *damp* paper towels!..... I like the damp sponge + holder arrangement - Get in the habit of wiping the tip before you put it into its holder - Everytime! - Then it'll be clean & hot when you pick it up again

Get in the habit of resting it safely out of the way of ...... your $200 fancy structure kit...the one you just finished.

The voice of experience?

The foregoing means you should only have to tin the wire, tin the tip of the iron, or both, hold the wire tip in place against the rail, and then just touch the other side of the rail web or foot for about a count of "One...two.." and remove the iron immediately.

Again, +1

Practice with a piece of wire, say 12ga stranded & twisted - Dunk it into your flux tub (or wipe with your flux pen) and hold the iron to it - The flux will boil - Touch your solder to this and you'll understand "tinning" as the solder flows up the wire Do not melt the solder on the iron and expect it to somehow magically flow into your workpiece! - Heat the work, then apply the solder to that, *not* the iron.

Wisdom is to not use acid flux on electronics. I do use it for tracks....

FWIW, I concur with that wisdom. But why use acid at all?

I'm not arguing btw, I'm just not aware of any reasons to use acid solder/flux over the "regular" stuff? If it's demonstrably "better", I guess I could deal with the pain it causes!

Cheers,
Ian

 

[Selector]

Ian, by gun-type I mean the handle and probe configuration, not the induction type or fancier soldering tools. Some are pencil type, some are more like a pistol. But I don't mean the one that might also have a trigger to activate as a real pistol would.

I suppose you could dampen the roll of paper towel, but it would take a lot of water, be a heavy sodden weight, and it would be a haven for mould in no time at all in my climate. So, a lighter and dry roll also does the trick. At least, it works fine for me, and also for Tim Warris, the owner of Fast Tracks, who demonstrates his preference for that method in his online videos.

No, the only mistakes I have made with the hot probe is to leave a hole in the plastic lower surface of a tile in my suspended ceiling, and I burnt a finger once or twice. I try to be very deliberate about handling a soldering iron, including when I want to set it aside and get on to other things after using it.

As for the acid flux, it does a better job of prepping the surfaces than a plain resin flux. Unfortunately, the residue, if left undisturbed after the act of soldering, can continue to exert its acidic reactions on the metals and solder, and that often means over time a "parting of the ways". The metals corrode and the solder will actually let go. When we see a greenish tinge at old solder points, it means there is copper sulfate forming, an oxide of copper, which is the main metal in nickel-silver rails. You'll get a really good solder, generally, but maybe not very long-lasting. It is advisable to neutralize the flux residue with a toothbrush dipped in a solution of baking soda and water, scrub, rinse if you wish, and the well-executed solder should last darned near forever. Or, if you have soldered a turnout and PCB ties with acid flux, again the preferred technique for Tim Warris, he just washes the completed appliance in running water and uses a vegetable brush.

 

[RW&C]

I use a variable Weller soldering station (with the stand and sponge). It works great. One thing though, never try to catch a falling soldering iron. Chances are, you will.

Cruz, some irons use a plated tip. Once the plating wears off, solder won't stick to it, and if the solder won't stick, it won't heat anything else effectively. When you cleaned it with the wool you may have removed the coating (which was probably dodgy to begin with, which may have been why you shelved it 20 years ago). Try a new tip.

I keep the sponge wet. It's so dry where I live, I have no mold issues with it. Besides, a dry sponge would be useless.

 

[Motley]

Getting the right solder is the key also. I got some of the wrong stuff, it was for micro electronics and wouldn't even stick to the silver rails.

Once I got the correct solder it made a huge difference. It's called Metal Work by Benzonmine.

 

[bkpigs]

To add to the tips and techniques already listed, what I like to do is to put paste flux where I want to solder. Then, I take a clean and tinned solder iron and add some more solder to it. Bring the solder iron to the flux and hold. You will see the solder get sucked up along where the flux was at. I have had great success with this technique and have had zero cold solders. It also frees one hand up.

 

[fast_ian]

Ian, by gun-type I mean the handle and probe configuration, not the induction type or fancier soldering tools. Some are pencil type, some are more like a pistol. But I don't mean the one that might also have a trigger to activate as a real pistol would.

Ahh, OK - I thought you were suggesting something like a Weller 8200.

I suppose you could dampen the roll of paper towel, but it would take a lot of water, be a heavy sodden weight, and it would be a haven for mould in no time at all in my climate. So, a lighter and dry roll also does the trick. At least, it works fine for me, and also for Tim Warris, the owner of Fast Tracks, who demonstrates his preference for that method in his online videos.

Fair enough - There's generally more than one way to "skin the proverbial cat"...... But, I didn't mean an entire roll! Fold a couple of squares, dampen and pop it in the holder containing the sponge in the picture.

No, the only mistakes I have made with the hot probe is to leave a hole in the plastic lower surface of a tile in my suspended ceiling, and I burnt a finger once or twice. I try to be very deliberate about handling a soldering iron, including when I want to set it aside and get on to other things after using it.

You've never burnt it's own cord?

As for the acid flux, it does a better job of prepping the surfaces than a plain resin flux. Unfortunately, the residue, if left undisturbed after the act of soldering, can continue to exert its acidic reactions on the metals and solder, and that often means over time a "parting of the ways". The metals corrode and the solder will actually let go. When we see a greenish tinge at old solder points, it means there is copper sulfate forming, an oxide of copper, which is the main metal in nickel-silver rails. You'll get a really good solder, generally, but maybe not very long-lasting. It is advisable to neutralize the flux residue with a toothbrush dipped in a solution of baking soda and water, scrub, rinse if you wish, and the well-executed solder should last darned near forever. Or, if you have soldered a turnout and PCB ties with acid flux, again the preferred technique for Tim Warris, he just washes the completed appliance in running water and uses a vegetable brush.

Again, fair enough. Personally, I'll stick with the "common wisdom" - Rightly or wrongly! The more techniques the better. I do also tend to spray electrical cleaner on new joints - Even Rosin flux isn't very nice left "lying around" on new joints.

Cheers,
Ian

 

[Trussrod]

Hi NwDrum,
I've done soldering all my life and of course still do when building my own switches/turnouts
as the rails are soldered to copper clad PC strips to hold the rails in position with the exception of the points.

You'll want to have a soldering Iron that has a maxium heat range of at least 40 watts if your working with HO rail and the tip I prefer to work with is a chisel or flat screw driver type. A flat tip will apply heat more evenly over the area your trying to solder which is what you want as you don't have to apply heat for too long.

Actually, if you get the Weller WLC100 soldering station the iron comes with the ST3 tip which is a flat tip so that's great. Amazon on the site here has the station for $46.18 which is fairly reasonable.

Now for a few pointers on soldering:
1st. Both parts to be joined or soldered together must be cleaned so they are somewhat shinny. This can be accomplished with some medium weight steal wool or a steal wire brush or even one in a Dremel Rotrary tool. You can also use a Bright Boy abrasive pad to scrub th4 wire till is shiny and clean if it isn't already.

A good solder joint is smooth and shiny showing you've applied enough heat to allow the solder to flow properly between the parts your attempting to join. If the solder joing is dull and pimply it a cold joint and won't allow current to flow very well.

Soldering not only makes an electrical contact but if done properly also makes a good mechanical hold too. That doesn't mean you need gobs of solder as you don't, if it flows evenly and is shiny on clean items it should hold very well.

This is where tinning comes in, you clean the wire your going to use as well as the rail your going to join it too. You, 'Tin', apply a lite coat of solder to both pieces separately and then hold them together with a bit of solder on the tip of the iron along with a touch of flux from prior to applying the solder to the tip and when the wire and rail are heated sufficently the solider will flow and the joint/connection is made.

You will mainly work with Copper, Brass and Nickel Silver in soldering for model Railroading.

Soldering paste, 'NoKorode Soldering Paste', was/is made by M. W. Dutton Co. in Providence, R.I. that dates back to 1903 but it is a bit of an acid base. These were neighbors of my father as he often mentioned the name Dutton. It comes in a small a small round tin as said but there may be others now too.

Most of the soldering irons also have replaceable heating units to adjust for larger jobs as needed.


HTH

 

[RexHea]

to jump in on this discussion, I have a weller 100/140 which sat on my shelf for 20 years. I turned it on to test it by soldering 2 wires together and it never got the wires hot enough to melt the solder. I then cleaned the tip with steel wool, but no change in the results. Held the iron to the bare wire for 2minutes

The iron was hot because it sizzled when I stuck the tip in the flux paste.

Because you wrote 100/140, I assume you have a duel heat soldering gun. If so, after using for awhile the ends of the tip that go into the gun get corroded and will not conduct very well. All you have to do is loosen and re-tighten the nuts to make good connection. If that doesn't work, remove the nuts and clean the two tip ends. BTW: 100/140 is way BIG for this hobby...maybe ok for large bus wire .

 

[rhoward]

Below is the text of a handout I did for an NMRA Clinic a couple years back. There are many good techniques that are and should be used when soldering. You have already received some excellent advise. One thing I want to make clear is that I use different techniques for different projects. I use the technique below when soldering electrical joints including toggle switches, spade lugs, and track feeders. When I am building Fast Tracks Turnouts, I do pretty much what Tim from Fast Tracks suggests. I most often use my 25w Weller for electrical work in HO. I also have a 35w and a 40w iron. I have no need for anything larger.

One thing I have found that I really like is this from Micro Mark. Works very well and is what really makes the technique in the paper below work so well.

Remember practice makes perfect!

Basic Reliable Soldering
For the Model Railroader
-Ray

There are many different techniques that people use for electrical soldering in the hobby. The method I use works well for me and is based on techniques I have learned from electronic repair professionals over the years. Your mileage may vary.

1. Use the right equipment.
a. 25w to 40w pencil tipped (or flat tipped) soldering iron for most hobby work.
(I use a 25w for almost everything. Bigger is not always better.)
b. Rosin (or resin) core solder 60/40 (tin/lead). For most RR hobby work a small
diameter solder is generally best.
c. Rosin soldering flux (paste or liquid).
d. Small damp sponge and/or tip tinner-cleaner.
e. Scratch brush or sandpaper for cleaning surface to be soldered.

2. Safety!
a. Keep the area clean and orderly!
b. Wear eye protection, and never solder over your head. Do not become distracted while soldering.
c. The tip of a soldering iron gets to 800°F or hotter! Handle with care as it can cause serious burns instantly! Use a soldering stand.
d. Items that have been soldered tend to stay hot for a while. Don’t handle them until they have had time to cool.
e. Vapors given off in the soldering process contain lead and are poisonous. Do not breath vapors and always solder in a well ventilated space.

3. Soldering.
a. Make sure soldering iron tip is clean, tinned, and hot.
b. Items to be joined should be clean and free from oil, dirt, or corrosion.
c. Pre-tin surfaces? Depending on the surface and if there is corrosion I may or may not pre-tin all the surfaces. When using stranded wire, I tend to pre-tin to make them easier to work with.
d. Items to be joined should make a solid connect prior to soldering.
e. Add a small amount of flux to the joint.
f. I place a drop of solder on the hot tip of the iron and touch the iron to the joint. Additional solder may be added near the soldering iron. As soon as the solder flows into the joint (you will see it), remove the iron and let cool. A good solder joint will be smooth and somewhat shiny in appearance.

Caution Science Content!
A little theory..... Heat is transferred to the joint mostly where the metal of the iron is contacting the metal being heated. Remember that air is an insulator. A dry iron has very little contact area, so the heat is transferred slowly allowing a lot of the heat to travel down the track melting and bending ties as it goes, but won't easily get hot enough where the joint is to melt the solder or if it does you may get a cold solder joint. Having a small drop of solder on the tip of the iron increases drastically the contact surface allowing heat to be transferred quickly from both the drop of solder and the entire (very hot) soldering iron. The result is a lot of heat right where you need it. You are done quickly and before the heat travels away from the joint to do damage. That phenomenon is the reason some people recommend a larger iron and flat tip on the iron. More contact area, quicker, better, and safer results.

Remember: Practice on scrap materials and you will find your skills will improve quickly! Have fun!

Here are a couple of short videos from the clinic itself: http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/slow_rr/SLOW_RR_II/?action=view&current=SolderingTech1.mp4 and http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/slow_rr/SLOW_RR_II/?action=view&current=SolderingTech2.mp4